The Rs 273.227 million ongoing projects of the Women Development Ministry aimed at providing relief to women are being implemented at snail's pace. Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the ministry started these projects to end all types of discriminations against women.
However, due to bureaucratic sluggishness and red tape, the implementation of the projects is very slow. The ministry had started community campaign to prevent violence against Women with the help of media costing Rs 38 million. The allocation for PSDP 2007-08 is Rs 4.134 million. However, the utilisation of funds is comparatively low, they said.
The ministry has established 20 crisis centers out of proposed 25 crisis centers to provide shelter, food, legal aid and counselling to women during their crisis. The ministry failed to establish women crisis centers in Sialkot, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Mirwala, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sibi, Abbottabad, and Mirpur (AJK).
Sources said the pilot project started with the cost of Rs 25.262 million for District Resource Centers for Women is still not completed. These centers will be established in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha, Multan, Karachi, Sukkur, Quetta, Jafferabad, Peshawar, Hangu, Mardan, and Dir for which the ministry has allocated Rs 1.251 million for the current financial year. However, implementation process remained slow, they added.
Sources said it has proposed to establish women welfare center in Orakzai Agency, Fata with the total cost of Rs 11.375 million and the allocation under PSDP is Rs 2.518 million. Despite huge budgetary allocations, the projects of the ministry brought no major change in the plight of women except burdening the national exchequer, the sources added.
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